The Ted-Ed video I’m featuring here covers somewhat similar territory to the Crash Course video I recommended previously, but the delivery is more straight-faced. It sets itself the ludicrously ambitious target of trying to explain the origins of Russia in less than six minutes. Unsurprisingly, it fails to do anything like a comprehensive job, but it was always going to, and I admire the producers of the video for having a decent stab at it; it does hit the main points of the traditional story.
One of the major difficulties with talking about the beginning of a country is deciding at what point the beginning stops being a beginning and starts being more of a middle. The stopping point chosen here makes a certain amount of sense, but it leaves one of the opening questions, 'how did Russia end up being so large' without so much as a hint of an answer.
If your chosen means of distribution is an online format that allows instant viewer feedback, then there’s the question of how controversial you want to be. When discussing Kievan Rus’, the silent pachydermous presence in the vicinity is obviously the fact that the medieval polity in question has more than one modern successor state. The video does acknowledge this, but (understandably) in a very arms-length way.
From my point of view, the most interesting take away point for anyone new to this period of Russian history that is that contrary to popular belief (among non-Russians and Russians themselves), Russia does have a native democratic tradition, albeit one that was never able to take root across the whole of the Russian lands.
As always, it'd be great hear your views on what I've featured here, and indeed your views on my views. I'd be especially interested to hear from anyone who grew up in Russia; how closely does this version match up with what you learnt in school?
